The Journal of the Study Group (UK)

In this issue

ing Moth Cats of the genera and By Steven Grant

Breeding By Adrian Taylor

Spawning Misadventures By L Quilty

'• zygatus By Yann Fulliquet

On the validity and identity of some species of By Steven Grant

Volume 4 Issue Number 2 June 2003 CONTENTS

1 Committee

2 From the Chair

3 The identity of Moth Cats of the genera Hara Blyth, 1860 and Erethistes Muller & Troschel, 1849

by Steven Grant

9 My observations of breeding the Moth Cat Hara jerdoni

by Adrian Taylor

11 Spawning Misadventures - A lesson learned

by L Quilty

12 Corydoras zygatus

by Yann Fulliquet

15 On the validity and identity of some species of Synodontis Cuvier, 1817 (Siluriformes: )

by Steven Grant Articles and pictures can be sent by e-mail direct to the editor ; or by post to Bill Hurst 18 Three Pools Crossens SOUTH PORT PR9 BRA (England)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Front Cover: Original Design by Kathy Jinkins. June 2003 Vol4 No 2 HONORARY COMMITTEE FOR THE CA1fF,Sft SlffiOF C&Ofl. (ffllfl 2003

PRESIDENT AUCTION ORGANISERS Trevor (JT) Morris Roy & Dave Barton

VICE PRESIDENT FUNCTIONS MANAGER Or Peter Burgess Trevor Morris [email protected] SOCIAL SECRETARY CHAIRMAN Terry Ward lan Fuller ian @corycats.com WEB SITE MANAGERS Allan James [email protected] VICE CHAIRMAN Danny Blundell COMMITTEE MEMBERS DANNY.BLU NO ELL @care4free.net Peter Liptrot [email protected] SECRETARY Temporarily lan Fuller SOUTHERN REP Steve Pritchard TREASURER S. Pritchard@ btinternet.com Temporarily: Danny Blundell DANNY. BLUNDELL@ care4free.net CATERING DEPARTMENT Mr & Mrs Morris and Mr & Mrs Ward MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Julian Dignal CAT CHAT EDITOR jools@ planetcatfish.com Bill Hurst bhurst@ catfish.co.uk SHOW SECRETARY Brian Walsh DISTRIBUTION [email protected] Ann & Danny Blundell

ASSIST ANT SHOW SECRETARY SCIENTIFIC ADVISER Ann Blundell lsaac lsbrucker

CAfCMAf The Committee of the CSG (UK) would like to thank the following advertisers for their support in the production of this journal

BARLOW'S AQUATIC TRADING BRITAIN'S AQUATIC SUPERSTORE LTD ACCRINGTON BOLTON

PIER AQUATICS MERMAID IMPORTS WIGAN BROMSGROVE GBW JOINERY DARWEN From the Chair

Welcome to this the second issue of this year's April: Unfortunately I was unable to attend this Cat Chat. meeting due to the effects of a bug picked up on I hope you are enjoying what we are putting in it. I the flight back from New York. The day's know I have said this before and will , without a programme consisted of three films of Amazonian doubt, say it again but if there is any thing at all expeditions which showed habitats, fish and some that you would like to see in the magazine , or very interesting fish activity. indeed something that you do not like about it May: 'A Visit to Venezuela' presentation given by please let us know. lt is important for us to know Membership Secretary, Julian Dignall. The talk, how you feel about what we are providing. with the aid of some excellent slides , showed March: Our traditional Spring Auction proved to many of the different habitats he and fellow be equally as successful as the Convention. In member and Cat Chat contributor, Shane Under, fact it was one of the most successful auctions we explored and the various methods and equipment have had for some time . I just love to see the used to catch fish. room packed full of people desperate to part with Till next time, happy Catfish keeping. loads of money. lan Fuller

An Update Information Sheets for - A pictorial guide to catfish A number of members have By Steven Grant asked for back issues of the Further to my article which appeared in Volume 3 Information Sheets. Issue 3 of Cat Chat, Heok Hee Ng had originally In response to this, it has been changed my 1999 identification of the 'Nyong syno' decided to compile a book of the as Microsynodontis batesii to what he said was an first 36 Sheets. undescribed species (captioned as Microsynodontis sp. 'Gabon' or sp. 'Nyong' in the The Information Sheets will be article). identical to those currently Heok Hee has since altered his opinion and has issued, with colour pictures and reverted back to my original identification which I line drawings but they will be had made in 1999. Therefore the fish captioned as loose-leaf in a ring binder. Microsynodontis sp. 'Gabon' or sp. 'Nyong' (on Prices have not been finalised page 9) should be regarded as the true but it is anticipated to be in the Microsynodontis batesii. region of £10.00. The fish captioned as Microsynodontis batesii in the article (on page 7) should now be regarded as Further details of how to order representing Microsynodontis christyi. your copy will be in the next issue of Cat Chat. Sorry for any confusion caused!

2 June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 The identity of Moth Cats of the genera Hara Blyth, 1860 and Erethistes Muller & Troschel, 1849 (Pisces: Siluriformes: ) By Steven Grant

Species of the above genera can be found from time Identification and validity of the genera to time in aquatic shops and on the show bench, but You can separate Conta, Laguvia and Pseudo/aguvia the identity of some of them is sometimes unclear. from the other three genera as the former have an Hopefully this article, which is a shortened and adhesive apparatus on their abdomen, which looks like updated version of Grant (1999a), should act as a small corrugations. are much more guide for their identification. laterally compressed than Hara and Erethistes. Also , Firstly, why are they sometimes called moth cats? the serrations on the outer edge of the pectoral fin Their resemblance to moths was first noted by spines in Erethistoides differ from Hara and Erethistes. Hamilton in 1822 when he described , when In Erethistoides they point towards the base of the he remarked on the colour and pattern of the fins spine on the basal half, then they point towards the tip being similar to that of the wings of certain moths. on the distal half. In Hara, the serrations on the outer They are also sometimes called anchor cats due to edge of the pectoral fin spine all point towards the tip, their shape when viewed from above, but this is more whereas in the type species of Erethistes they are appropriate for Hara jerdoni. arranged in pairs of divergent denticles, one pointing towards the base the next towards the tip and so on. Familial placement To see the formation of the serrations in live fish you need to turn the fish on its back and hold it to the light. For many years they were included in the family but de Pinna (1996) re-established the family Hara has and sometimes still is considered to be a Erethistidae (first established by Sleeker in 1862), and junior synonym of Erethistes. De Pinna did not list any moved the following into it: features (except the above differences in pectoral fin spine serrations) that differed between Hara and Erethistes Muller & Troschel , 1849 Erethistes, out of the 112 physical internal and Hara Blyth , 1860 external structural characters that he used for Erethistoides Hora, 1950 comparative purposes. So in essence the only Laguvia Hora, 1921 difference between two is the pectoral fin spine Pseudo/aguvia Misra, 1976 serration formation. Is this enough to warrant separate Conta Hora, 1950 genera? We will have to see but for now they are classed as separate genera. Until my 1999a work was published most aquarists will have known them as sisorids, but they should be The species known as erethistids. Some ichthyologists still include Erethistes pusil/us (Muller & Troschel, 1849) - type them in Sisoridae but de Pinna's thorough work shows locality Assam that Erethistidae is warranted. In fact his work showed that the erethistids are physically more closely related to the banjo cats of the family than they are Sisoridae. If one looks at the texture of erethistid skin, and the fact that it is shed; and also how they propel themselves through the water (by jet propulsion using an intake of water into their mouths then out of the gills, and also using the ventral fins as 'feet' to push forward), you can see why de Pinna's hypothesis is correct as these features are mirrored in Sometimes spelled pussi/us and the date quoted as aspredinids. He further divided Erethistidae into two 1845 in some publications. This fish is extremely subfamilies: Erethistinae for the first five listed above, similar in external appearance to some of the Hara and he erected a new subfamily - Continae - for the species (especially Hara sp. 1), and can only really be last . told apart by the generic differences mentioned above. 3 June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 The specimen in my photo is unusually fat and gives the wrong impression of the body shape. Also the tip of the top lobe of its caudal fin is missing. H. saharsai was differentiated from H. hara by the larger length of the pectoral fin spine in relation to the head length The type specimens were only small and this may account for this difference. lt has been classed as a junior synonym of H. hara but it if the type specimens are re-examined in greater detail, further comparisons may be made and therefore in the future it may prove to be valid. See under Hara sp. 1. Hara filamentosa Blyth, 1860 - type locality Size is usually given as 5cm but this appears to be Tennasserim . Total Length, therefore 4cm Standard Length is more likely.

This species has been and still is sometimes considered to be a junior synonym of H. hara. This was/is mainly due to the fact that H. hara can sometimes have a small extension on the tip of the lobes of the caudal fin and this has led ichthyologists into considering the presence of the filamentous tip to be insufficient to warrant a separate species. However, Hara hara (Hamilton, 1822) -type locality Kosi River I feel this is perhaps due to studying incorrectly Uneeded replacement name: Hara buchanani Blyth , identified , non type specimens of H. filamentosa. 1860.

Questionable JUniOr synonym: Hara saharsai Srivastava & Datta Munshi, 1988 - Kosi Belt, North ' Bihar, . H. hara will reach at least ?cm SL, and can easily be differentiated from the other Hara species by looking at the shape of the caudal fin. In H. hara it is more crescentic/lunate, with the lobes being long and pointed, whereas in the others it is more forked and the lobes don't appear as proportionately long.

4 C'Af C'MAf June 2003 Vol4 No 2 If one looks at the image of what I consider to be the true H. filamentosa, you will automatically see the differences in the shape of the adipose fin , and also in the prominence and structure of the humeral and cubito-humeral process (the series of bones which lie along the body after the insertion of the pectoral fin spine) .

I have only ever seen one lot of the true H. filamentosa Original line drawing of H serratus for sale and as such they appear to be more rare in Barak River at Sekjang, Tuifai, Manipur. Only three the hobby than H. hara. This may be due to the fact specimens were used in the description , the largest that they originate from Myanmar (Burma). being 6.14cm Standard Length . lt can be separated They will reach at least ?cm SL. from all other species of Hara by the fact that the anterior (front) edge of the spine has Hara jerdoni Day, 1870 - type locality Sylhet District, serrations, whereas in all the other species it is not Bangladesh serrated. In this species the posterior processes of the coracoids are very short, as in H. hara.

Hara horai Misra, 1976 - type locality Terai & Duars, North Bengal

This is the Anchor Cat. it's the smallest known species, only reaching to around 2.5 - 3.0cm SL. lt can easily be differentiated from the others by the proportionately long pectoral fin spines, and the fact that the posterior process of the coracoid* extends almost to the ventral fin insertion .

This is probably the largest of all the known species,

Hara jerdoni *appears as a line of bone extending from the pectoral girdle area, running horizontally along the ventral half of the body.

Hara serratus Vishwanath & Kosygin , 2000 - type locality Jiri River at Jiribam , Manipur, India This recently described species is also present in the

5 June 2003 Vol4 No 2

Hara horai male reaching at least 8.5 cm SL. lt can be easily differentiated from the others by the shape of the adipose fin, being high and triangular in shape. lt is also posteriorly free from the body.

the adipose fin is folded onto the body. The fin is long, low and posteriorly free from the body and pointed posteriorly. comparison to all the other species. I moved this species to Hara in my 1999a work. The largest of the three specimens found is 2.17cm SL.

Please note that on the images of the holotype, the adipose fin is folded against the body. The adipose fin is long, low and is pointed and free from the body posteriorly. Hara aspera (McCielland, 1844) - type locality Chusan, China I erroneously captioned this as Hara sp. "A. P." in my 1999a work.

Hara maesotensis (Kottelat, 1983) - type locality Mae Nam Moei (tributary of the Salween River), 5km W of Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand

This species was originally described in the genus Erethistes due to the uncertainty of the validity of the Original drawing genus Hara, and also because the character of the denticles on the outer edge of the pectoral fin spine do This species was originally described as Pimelodus not exactly match that of the type species of Erethistes asperus, and since then over the years it has been nor that of the species of Hara. In H. maesotensis they included in Hara (which changes the species name cannot really be called serrations, but are denticles asperus to aspera), Erethistes, and Laguvia. Its that are not uniform in their size or shape. The inclusion in the genus Laguvia by Hora when erecting serrations on the inner edge of the pectoral fin spine the genus Laguvia, is based on the use of are few and are proportionately very large in 6 ~Af~MAf June 2003 Vol4 No 2 misidentified specimens by Chaudhuri (1919) and hobby, unless some can be found that have originated subsequently Hora, of specimens from Upper from the type locality. lt looks similar to H. horai. Myanmar, which I consider to represent Hara sp. 1 tuberculatus (Prashad & Mukerji, 1929). This has caused further problems as it appears that Jordan in 1923 designated the type species of Laguvia as Pimelodus asperus, but again basing this on and perpetuating the misidentifications made by Chaudhuri and Hora. The reason this is a problem is that aspera I asperus is not, in my opinion a member of Laguvia and the species inadvertently used by Chaudhuri and Hora: tuberculatus is the type species of the valid genus This apparently undescribed species is very common Pseudolaguvia. I feel that Hora based the erection of in the hobby. I initially thought it represented H. horai Laguvia primarily on the characters of Laguvia ribeiroi but based on the profile of its head and other Hora, 1921 and that this species should be fixed by characters I feel that it is either undescribed, or may the International Commission on Zoological even be H. saharsai. At fi rst glance it looks similar to Nomenclature, or by an ichthyologist, as the type E. pusil/us but can be separated by the difference in profile of the head, and also the formation of the species of Laguvia. serrations on the outer edge of the pectoral fin spine. In my 1999a work I placed the species in Hara, based Seems to only reach a small size of approx. 5cm SL. on the fact that no adhesive thoracic apparatus was Hara sp. 2 mentioned by McCielland; by the nature of the strong, laterally compressed pectoral fin spines; the strong dorsal fin spine; the comparatively large and long cubito-humeral process; the 'normal' nature of the operculum (which in Laguvia is structured so that it appears to be wide open); and the head/body's steep profile.

Baensch & Evers {2002) list the Laguvia species (including aspera) under the genus G/yptothorax Blyth , 1860. This appears to be based on certain authors, and the internet site Fish Base listing Laguvia as a junior synonym of . However, as mentioned earlier, de Pinna has shown that Laguvia is a valid genus and is not even in the same Family as Glyptothorax. Baensch & Evers also show a photograph captioned as "Giyptothorax asperus". If one looks at the weak nature of the pectoral and dorsal fin spines, and the humeral process of the fish pictured, they do not match that of the description of aspera and as such in my opinion the fish pictured (ANSP 178635) by Mark Sabaj. Copyright ANSP. does not represent aspera, and is probably a true This apparently undescribed species is based on a member of Glyptothorax. single specimen (ANSP 178635) purchased in an I have included a scanned copy of the original drawing ornamental fish market in Bangkok by Mark Sabaj of of H. aspera for use. Unfortunately without a known the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, USA. preserved type specimen , detailed comparisons to The market trader said it was from "southern Thailand" other species of Hara are difficult, and as such we but Mark has been informed that the market trader shouldn't really give this name to specimens in the probably just made it up.

7 C'Af CftAf June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 Hara ma/abarica Day, 1865 = Mvstus canarensis de Pinna, M. C. C. , 1996. A phylogenetic analysis of Grant 1999 - type locality Canara, Karnataka State, the Asian catfish families Sisoridae, Akysidae , and India , with a hypothesis on the relationships of the neotropical Aspredinidae (Teleostei, This is actually a bagrid and was transferred to Ostariophysi). Fieldiana Zoo/. (N. S.) No. 84: i-iv + 1- Bagridae by myself and given a replacement name in 83. 1999. Eschmeyer et al. , 2002. Catalog of - online care version . http ://www. calacademy. org/research / ichthyology. Fish Base website. http://www.fishbase. Moth Cats are easy to keep as long as the org/ temperature is not too hot and you do regular water changes. If the water conditions are not good they will Baensch, H A. & H-G. Evers , 2002. Aquarien Atlas - shed their skins (Grant 1999a), similar to aspredinids Band 6. Pages 1-1232. and akysids. The water should be slow moving as they Chaudhuri, B. L. , 1919. Report on a small collection do not appreciate a fast water flow. They prefer live of fish from Putao (Hkamti Long) on the northern foods such as bloodworms and chopped earthworms, frontier of Burma. Rec. Indian Mus. , 16 (4): 271-287, although large Hara horai will eat whole small plate XXII . earthworms. They are relatively peaceful but can Jordan, D. S. , 1923. A classification of fishes including become aggressive (especially Erethistes pusi//us and families and genera as far as known. Stanford Univ. Hara sp. 1) when food is added in the tank. Publ. , Univ. Ser., Bioi. Sci ., vol3 (no 2) , page 148.

Acknowledgements Hora, S. L. , 1921 . On some new and rare species of fish from the Eastern Himalayas. Rec. Indian Mus ., 22 Thank you to Sonia Fisch-Muller of the Museum (5) : 731-744, plate XXIX. d'histoire naturelle Geneve for supplying the images of the holotype of Hara maesotensis; and to Mark Henry Misra, K. S. , 1976. Fauna of India, Pisces (2nd Sabaj of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Edition) Volume 3. pages 231-255. plate IX. Figs. 1-6. Philadelphia, USA for supplying the images of ANSP McCielland, J., 1844. Description of a collection of 178635. fishes made at Chusan and Ningpo in China by G. R. Playfair. Calcutta J. nat. Hist.. , 4, pages 404-405, plate References XXIV.

(Numerous other references listed in Grant 1999 a&b) Kottelat, M., 1983. A new species of Erethistes Muller & Troschel from Thailand and Burma (Osteichthyes: Grant, S., 1999a. Notes on the genus Hara Blyth , Siluriformes: Sisoridae). Hydrobiologia, 107: 71-74. 1860, (Pisces: Siluriformes: Erethistidae), with a new key to the species. Catfish Compendium, Vol. 1. pages Blyth, E. , 1860. Report on some fishes from the 9-20. Sitang river and its tributary streams. J. Asiat. Soc. Beng. , 29: 152-153. Grant, S. , 1999b. Notes on the genus Laguvia Hora, 1921, and Pseudolaguvia Misra, 1976 (Siluriformes: Hamilton, F., 1822. An Account of the Fishes Found in Erethistidae) . Catfish Compendium, Vol. 1. pages 20- the River and Its Branches. Page 190. 24. Datta Munshi, J. S. & M. P. Srivastava, 1988. Natural Grant, S., 1999. A replacement name (nomen novum) History of Fishes and Systematics of Freshwater and neotype designation for Hara malabarica Day, Fishes of India. Page 265-267, plate XXXII. fig. 5. 1865, with notes on related species (Siluriformes). Srivastava, M. P., 1989. A new hill-stream sisorid fish Aqua, J. lchthy. Aquat. Bioi. v. 3 (no. 4) : 169-174. of the genus Hara (Biyth) 1860 from Kosi Belt, North Bihar, India. J. Freshwater Bioi. 1 (2) ,: 121-125. Vishwanath, W. and L. Kosygin, 2000. On a new species of the genus Hara Blyth from Manipur, India. Day, F., 1870. Notes on the Genus Hara. J. Asiat. Soc. lndianJ. Fish. v. 47 (no. 2): 143-147. Bengal, 39 (2): 37-40, plate IV.

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Have your Credit Card ready and Ring 01254 388815 June 2003 Vol4 No 2 My observations on breeding the Moth Cat Hara Jerdoni. By Adrian Taylor,

I have previously kept Hara hara and Hara filamentosus; so I knew that these required very good water quality in order to keep them alive. Although these fishes will tolerate temperatures in the high seventies, they appear to be more comfortable at temperatures of 70° F. I had also observed that these fishes were nocturnal. In the April of 2002 I purchased six Hara jerdoni and I housed them in a tank measuring 14 x 8 with sand and a twin air operated sponge filter. The temperature was constant at 72 oF; pH?, and 5 GH. I fed these fishes live bloodworm and white worm on alternative days and carried out 20% water changes twice weekly. Every now and again I noticed that, on the surface of the filter sponges, there were what seemed to be slug like trails running all over them. After giving this some thought I reasoned that this could only come from the fish themselves and that it wasn't the result of mucus produced by the fish in response to stress etc, but maybe it was a mucus laden pheromone given off by the males to attract a mate. With this thought in mind, these fishes to see if my notes and observations stand I decided to have a go at breeding these fishes . up. On the 26th may 2003 I successfully re-spawned The first thing I tried was the introduction of a number these fishes. I also found two eggs, these eggs had a of small caves into the tank to see if these fishes were black nucleus and were surrounded by a jelly like cave spawners; however this met with no success, so I substance. (I have never seen this type of egg before tried spawning mops. After a week, I inspected the in any of the other fishes that I have bred from spawning mop and saw that in the upper layers were Corydoras melini to Betta persephone which hatched the same silky mucus strands/trails previously noted. I within 12 hours). I believe that Hara fishes hatch within tried to handle the mucus but it dissolved when 24 hours of spawning. touched and seemed to fall apart quite easily when The sex differences of these fishes are very stretched. Whilst I was examining the mops, I was comparable to Corydoras species in that; the female is unable to find any eggs but I did see four fry in the more robust than the males and although quite small substrata of the tank measuring some 5 mm in length. in the fin definition there is a notable difference in the A few days later I found around a dozen eggs in the pectoral fins of the of the two sexes when compared mop. They were white in colour but failed to hatch. I together. there is a very small difference in the length also found two fry measuring 2 mm in length with a of the barbels but only by a millimeter or so. yolk sac about twice the size of the body. The fry showed no colouration but within 24 hours the yolk sac The common name of Moth Cat is quite apt because had disappeared and the fry had a striped the body markings resemble one of the common appearance. moths we find on a summer night around our lighting . Although they may be seen during the day swimming Due to health problems I lost all but three of the fry but occasionally around the tank, they are far more active those who attended the British Aquarists Festival in at night (when I also think they spawn). They (males) October 2002 may have seen them on the Catfish also lay a silken thread to attract a mate which looks Study Group's stand. akin to a certain silken thread that an oriental moth Before releasing these notes I wanted to re-breed produces albeit for a different purpose 9 June 2003 Vol 4 No 2

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10 June 2003 Vol4 No 2

Spawning Misadventures ••• A Lesson Learned L. Quilty

Have you ever wondered about all those success started yet. I didn't have a clue as to what I was in for. I stories on breeding fish? What about the failures and did the water changes. Major water changes, partial the mishaps? How many futile attempts and false water changes. Raise the temperature, drop the starts were there , before there were fry? Well I've temperature; slow water current, fast water current; decided to write a few words on such an adventure. shallow water, and shallower water still. Peat, no peat; My fruitless attempts at having catfish spawn. If your Blackwater extract, no extract. A calm surface, and looking for a "how to" article on the subject, read no then a spray bar on the surface. I did major water further, this is not it. I won't bore you with all the changes , dropping the temperature, while the torturous details, for it is a saga, riddled with angst, barometric pressure was falling , maintaining surface aggravation, and frustrations . But I believe that such a agitation and shallow water. And then I did them scenario might have been the prelude to how that first without. I was watching the weather channel! Not for catfish wound up in a frying pan. lt had nothing to do me, for the fish! And let's not forget the food . Live food , with culinary experimentation. I am sure it was a dead food , flakes , pellets. Heavy feedings of live hobbyist, hell-bent on revenge. blackworms a few days before a major water change with cooler water just prior to the arrival of an YEARS AGO , and I mean Y-E-A-R-S A-G-0, I impending low front preceding a major thunderstorm decided to give catfish breeding a try. Many species that had been reported on the weather channel. of fish , requiring more exacting conditions have Nothing! And then there are the fish . Big fish , little fish , repeatedly spawned, and thrived while in my care. old fish , young fish. Plump fish with skinny fish , pairs, Generations of neons, rummy nose tetras, bumblebee trios , and pairs of trios. NOTHING . Corydoras aeneus, gobies, Tropheus duboise, and many more, have C. pa/eatus, C. punctatus, and Corydoras something contently lived and reproduced in my home. Why not else. Still nothing! And I can not forget the vegetable my catfish? Why not my Corys? Others are doing it. eaters, Otocinclus affinis and the bristlenose cats. I There are lectures given on the subject. There are went to the grocery store for them; I was in the pictures. All the books report that it has been done. vegetable aisle. Yuck! And still nothing. I was having Fish do it all the time. Why should my being in the the same results that I would have had, if I had tried to vicinity change that? There are tones of literature on do this without the fish . Nothing was happening. And the topic. I can read. I can do this. "That's what you all I had, was a lot of well fed tortured fish. Never think, smarty. I'm not going to let you. You're going to before, and certainly never since, have I spent so leave something out. " Who said that? Did you hear much time , nor put so much effort into a group of fish . someone say something? I didn't. Had I been listening, I would have recognized the voice. I know who she is; Meanwhile, back at the club, Roger Schillizzi is I've heard her before. I truly admire her. But I didn't donating pounds of baby albino aeneus to the auction . hear her. I wasn't paying attention . I didn't hear the "How is he doing this?" you ask. In tubs in his yard , edict: NO CATFISH SPAWNING BEYOND THIS that's how. Oh, that's just great. Like the vegetable POINT! My fish heard her. But I, unknowingly, had aisle wasn't bad enough , now I have to get a yard? missed it. I was too absorbed in my research - you That's it, enough is enough. I give up. But Roger know, water changes, feedings , barometric pressure insisted that a yard wasn't mandatory; and since we readings , temperature changes , stuff like that. The couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong , he stuff you need to know to do this sort of thing, since generously offered me a trio of his breeders. you're not her. You know her. The one who if she "Guaranteed to spawn ," he said, "Like clockwork ." doesn't like where you left your beach house, will Yeah, right. He obviously hadn't heard about the edict! move it. Mother Nature. She was on to me, and catfish breeding was about to become a thorn in my side. True to his word, at the next meeting, Roger presented me with a trio of albino Corys. I asked if he was sure So, I obtained books solely on catfish . I read the he wanted to do this , after all his trio could be ruined. literature. I went to the lectures; I spoke to breeders. But he assured me that everything would be fine, and No problem here. I was an informed hobbyist - I was that he seriously doubted that I would ruin the fish . ready. Ha. She was laughing at me, and I hadn't even And that's how it happened. lt couldn't have been any

11 C'AI' C'HA\1' June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 simpler. I took the fish home, put them in a tank, fed teach us, and the severity of some of her lessons, I am them, kept them wet, and waited. A few days later they quite content to have learned this one: I do not breed were wildly chasing each other around the tank. I fish. I feed them, and clean up after them. I have thought that the next day I would do a water change, learned to just leave them alone. Nature will graciously and maybe they would spawn . But I didn't have a reward good husbandry with spawns. chance to do the water change, for the next day the So, if I should ever write an article on breeding catfish, glass, plants, and filter tube were covered with eggs!! should I entitle it, "My First Attempt at Breeding Albino There were eggs everywhere! I couldn't believe it. I Corys - A Success Story?" or "Should I give Mother stood there dumb founded, staring into the tank. And Nature her due?" I'll give her, her due. I might have a they haven't stopped. In the first month that I've had beach house someday and I wouldn't want Her them , they have spawned six times! No special water annoyed at me. changes, no special feedings, nothing. I actually witnessed the female carrying eggs between her References: ventral fins, and deposit them on the glass. Just as the Axelrod H., Emmens C., Burgess W., Pronek N., books describe! Amazing. After just one month, I find Axelrod G. , Exotic Tropical Fishes Expanded Edition, myself with inch long baby cats. T. F. H. Publications, Inc., Neptune, NJ 07753, 1980 So what was I doing wrong? I do not know. What was I Baensch H. , Riehl R., Aquarium Atlas, Volume I - Ill, leaving out? Well, for starters, I left out the spawning Mergus-Verlag Hans A. Baensch, Melle, Germany, catfish. But I can second-guess myself forever, and 1991 still never know what I was doing, or not doing. Madsen J. M. , Aquarium Fishes in Color, MacMillan Natures' variables are endless. Fish spawn when the Publishing Co., Inc., N.Y., N.Y. , 10022, 1975 conditions are right. Maybe one of the conditions is that they want to spawn. But I am convinced that Sakurai A., Sakamoto Y. , and Mori F. , Aquarium Fish Mother Nature was teaching me a lesson . They are of the World , Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA, after all, Her fish. And when you consider all she can 1992 Catfish Art By IanFuller

Prints

Here I have produced a series of 250 limited issue, individually hand coloured prints from original line drawings, each A4 print is board mounted, signed and dated by the author at the time of issue. Cost £9.95 ( $16.oo) plus p&p

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12 June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 Corydoras zygatus Eigenmann & Alien 1942

The very first time I encountered this fish , it was back about 3 weeks with that system and one day, on my in 1997, I was visiting one of the local shop and found birthday to be more precise, when I came back from in several tanks some rather huge, probably full grown home, I found the tank full of eggs, they had spawned Corydoras that I had never seen before, they were and had placed the eggs about everywhere the water looking a lot like Corydoras rabauti, but the size was current was being felt. The eggs were place in different way too big to be them. I asked the shop owner about part of the tank in either huge pack of about hundreds the identity of this Corydoras and he gently answered of them or in small pack of 10 or so. The eggs had a me that they were Corydoras metae. I knew they could diameter of about 1mm . I can't explain the joy of that not have been this species, this he had 9 of them in sight, they were my first Corydoras species to spawn his shop I asked him about the price, which was 8 € and they did it on my birthday, I could not have been per fish. That was a really good price for a rather more happier and what a great present from Mother uncommon Gory, so I bought the whole stock, which Nature! To take any gamble, I took the parents out of consisted in 5 males and 4 females. the tank. But a day after all the eggs had turned white One of the first few things that impressed me with this because of unfertilization. SO I had to restart all over Corydoras was its size, female were around 7-7.3 cm again . long and males were about 1cm smaller. I had at that About 3-4 months later I decided to give another try, I time never seen bigger Gory. So the 9 fishes were made this time a good point at picking up the most placed in a 250 litre tank, filled with tap water ( Ph: 7.4, active and most healthy trio possible, and once again Gh: 12°, Kh : so), the temperature was set at around place them in the 10 gallons tank, once again they 26°C, the other tank mates consisted in Ancistrus sp. were fed daily with frozen blood worms , every 2 days, and dwarf . So I started to search for some 75% water change were made, and the tank would be information on the possible name of that species and refilled with cool water to make the temperature sink finally found its name by looking in the "Aqualog" "All as low as 14°G, after a week and half of that Gorydoras", no doubt about it they were Corydoras treatment, I forgot to feed the trio one day, the next zygatus. I started also at that time to search for day, when I came back from work, I found so many different information regarding this species but came eggs in the tank, mainly placed on the upper part of empty handed until someday where I read that this the tank glass all around the tank. I, this time , took all species could lay around 600 eggs at spawning, but the eggs out and place them in a plastic box filled with no other detail was given on the way to achieve water from the tank, an air stone was added and the breeding this Gory. whole set-up was place in a dark place. I did not used So I just went on keeping them in my tank and hoping any anti fungus because of bad experiences I had with that someday, after a water change I would find them it while using it with eggs of Corydoras panda place in to have spawn in the main tank. But many years the same sort of set-up. After 3 days I did check the passed and nothing happened, until one day I read in eggs to see if they were fertile or not, I estimated that a magazine that a temperature of 16 °G was required about 95% of the eggs had been fertilized. A day or for make them spawning. I decided I should give a two after the eggs had all hatched, I was so impressed with the small size of the fry, they were the smallest fry more serious try at breeding them , so I set up a small I have ever seen, and I sort of started to worry about 10 gallons tank, with a small layer of gravel, a little root how I would feed them once their yolk sac would be and some Anubias barteri var. nana. The tank was absorbed. place on the floor to have the coldest room temperature possible; no light was added to the tank I place al the fry inside a 2 Gallons tank which was except from the one coming from the room in which filled with water from the parents tank, a little air filter the tank was placed. I capture the biggest female and was put inside to avoid that the fry would be suck by it, two males and put them in that tank. I heavily fed them plus I was also hoping that they would eat the small with frozen bloodworms and made 60-75% water present on the sponge of the filter. To avoid change every 2 days, I made sure that I would make any fungus to develop on the bottom, a small layer of the temperature sink from 20° G to 16° G, I went on for sand was put in. 13 C'Af C'ftAf June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 The first food given was some crush Spirulina tablets, ABOUT THE AUTHOR they seem to eat it without any problem , as I did not Yann Fulliquet noticed any loss and the fry were growing at a rather good pace.

I was doing water change every day, changing about 30-50% of the water, the sponge was cleaned in the old water, and water from the parents' tank was taken to refill the fry's tank. I also make sure to clean the sand to avoid any developing of bacteria. After 2 weeks, there was no possible doubt about the identity of the parents, the fry look like Corydoras zygatus fry and not like Corydoras rabautifry . Suddenly I started to lose some fry for unknown reason, they were no sign of fungus , or starvation . At first it was only 2-3 young that were dying, so nothing really to worry about, but then the number of loses started to rise rather dramatically. One of my error was having used a day before straight tap water to refill the fry tank, I was in a hurry and forgot not to use straight tap water, I did put dechlorine product in the water, but as it was during spring and especially a time of year when Water companies put a bit more chlorine in the water because of farmer using cow poop to fertilize their field ... in 2 days all my fry were gone.

Since then I did not retried to spawn them, because of I was born the 10 of November 1976 in the suburban lack of time and space. I also encountered my first of Geneva. I am married and have one child. Since a adult losses, probably of natural cause as they were little kid I have been interested in animals but only already full grown at the time I bought them so it is started to get interested in Fish in 1995. I started by really hard to give an age these fishes might have, I keeping barbs, with Ancistrus and Corydoras. Later I only know that I have them now 6 years, and I would switch to cichlids and more precisely to South assume that they were at least 2 years old when I saw American dwarf cichlids. In 1998 I read my first article them in that shop. I shall give another try at spawning about Hypancistrus zebra and fell in love with the fish. them before I loose them all, I have now only 3 males I started to get myself more and more interested in left and still have the 4 females. The biggest female is Catfish, especially from South America, and of the almost 8cm long, now. Since I bought them I have family Loricariidae and Callichthyidae. I went on seen only twice this Cory in shop, one at an importator searching as much information about them everywhere in France and another one at an auction here in I could look for, luckily for me I do speak French, Lausanne where I live, mix up with some Corydoras German and English, which really help to get rabauti, and it happen during the last 6 months, before information. As my knowledge towards this group that I never seen it anywhere. So I really want to be grows, I also started to get interested in as able to save "my" population and have some young well. My first breeding experience with catfish was from them, I would also to be able to spread this back in 1997 with the common Ancistrus. I bred my species around here as it is really worth being kept. lt first Corydoras in 2000. So far I have bred the is a very hardy Cory, adaptable to a great range of Common Ancistrus, normal and albinos strains, water chemistry and temperature. Plus its nice and Hypancistrus sp L28, Corydoras aeneus, napoensis, attractive colouration make a nice addition to any ones paleatus, panda and zygatus. In 2002 I made my first tank. Anyway Corydoras zygatus will always have a trip in Brazil, in Manaus to be precise, I explored a bit special place in my heart and will always have room the region and if I can think of some place where I wish for them in my tanks! If someday, you are lucky, just I could be finishing my days on earth, the Amazon rain like me to come across this species, go ahead and go forest and the Rio Negro would be the place. There is for it, they really worth it! no better place for a catfish lover like me. 14 June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 On the validity and identity of some species of Synodontis Cuvier, 1817 (Siluriformes: Mochokidae) By Steven Grant

This article is a discussion surrounding the availability I have consulted with Dr. William Eschmeyer and he and validity of two species described in aquarium considers that the description meets the requirements magazine, and a short discussion on the identity and of the ICZN, therefore making the name available. validity of four poorly known species or subspecies. lt appears that the type specimens were not Svnodontis qalinae Kochetov, 1998 preserved. The etymology of the species name is based on Kochetov's wife's name Galina (As per Dr. Sergei M. Kochetov - brother of Alexandr - personal communication) If looks at the photographs of S. galinae in the original description, and also Kochetov's photograph which appears in Baensch & Evers (2002), they are identical in all aspects to S. eupterus, including the colour, and the extension of the dorsal fin . The only difference being the profile of the head. I was not convinced that the type specimens had been imported from the wild , as I was aware that S. eupterus was being bred using hormones treatments. My suspicions were almost confirmed when I came As per Hieronmus & Grineva's (2000) translation: across a tank full of small {2 .5 cm SL) specimens of Described on the basis of aquarium specimens that S. eupterus in a shop. Mixed in with normal had supposedly been imported into Russia from the specimens of S. eupterus were numerous specimens White Nile in 1985. Kochetov described the species as with an obviously different head profile. I checked with new based on the fact that in S. galinae the head the shop and they were confirmed to be tank bred fish . profile was shorter and more rounded than in the If one looks at my photographs you can see the same specimens of Synodontis eupterus Boulenger, 1901 head profile as in S. galinae. I consider S. galinae to that they were imported with. He also states that his S. be a junior synonym of S. eupterus, and that the galinae differed due to the dorsal fin extension unusual head profile is a cranial deformity, either extending downwards, and that the body colour was naturally occurring due to inbreeding, or due to purple. breeding caused by hormone treatment.

15 CAll' CHAII' June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 I have been unable to contact Alexandr Kochetov but I have communicated with his brother Dr. Sergei Kochetov. Dr. Kochetov informs me that he does not consider this or the next 'species' to be valid and that S. eupterus is being bred by hormone injection . Svnodontis 'helenae' Kochetov, 1995 This name first came to my attention from the pictures and information in Baensch & Evers (2002). I have been unable to track down a copy of the original description, which apparently appeared in a Russian aquarium magazine. Because I have not seen the description I have been unable to determine whether it meets the requirements of the ICZN for availability as a scientific name, and that is why I have captioned it as above. Although Baensch & Evers (2002) have captioned it as a full scientific name, they probably have not made it available, due to their comments on its doubtful validity. Again, the type specimens (if it is validly described) do not appear to have been preserved. The etymology of the name is from Alexandr Kochetov's eldest daughter who is called Helena (personal communication from Dr. Sergei Kochetov). When I look at the pictures of this fish , and look at the body shape, colour, pattern, and shape of the nuchal shield and humeral process, it is obvious to me that above the pectoral fin), the anal fin , caudal fin , ventral this 'species' is just a form of (and synonym of, if fins, and possibly the dorsal and pectoral fins. There available as a scientific name) Synodontis nigrita also appears to be some faint spotting on the body. Valenciennes, 1840; it ties in exactly with the figure of In Vaillant (1896) he shows a dorsal view of the head. the holotype of S. nigrita which appears in Poll (1971 ). The shape of the head and mouth area is very The unusual unpigmented areas of skin on S. different to that of S. xiphias shown in Poll (1971 ). The 'helenae' have possibly been caused by breeding with maxillary & premaxillary (tip of the nose/lip area) in S. hormones, or may be a naturally occurring variation. vail/anti is broad, rounded and flattened, whereas in S. Again , Dr. Sergei Kochetov informs me that S. nigrita xiphias it is pointed and narrow. The mouth appears to is being bred in Russia by the use of hormones. be placed more anteriorly in S. vail/anti and its humeral Svnodontis vaillanti Boulenger, 1897 process is shaped differently. This species description was based on a specimen So S. vail/anti is a different species to S. xiphias, but measuring 55cm TL from Upper Ubanghi River, Zaire whether it is synonymous with S. labeo remains to be basin, identified as Synodontis labeo Gi.inther, 1865 by seen. According to the original description of S. labeo, Vaillant in 1896. Boulenger obviously considered the "the snout terminates in a large, soft globular swelling", specimen figured by Vaillant to be different to that of but Poll concluded that the shape of the snout was due the true S. labeo. The true S. /abeo originates from to the method of preservation. west Africa (probably Niger River) , and has been a Svnodontis voltae Roman, 1975 junior synonym of Synodontis xiphias Gi.inther, 1864 (from Niger, west Africa) since Poll (1971 ). This Described from the Bougouriba River, affluent of the synonymy may be proved incorrect in the future White Volta, the largest type specimen being 13.3cm although Poll examined and x-rayed the types of both SL. specimens. Roman compared his species to one of a similar colour The specimen (according to Vaillant) has spots and pattern: Synodontis sorex Gi.inther, 1864. it is (smaller than the eye) on the nuchal shield (head clear that his species does differ to S. sorex as pointed plate), the humeral process (bony shield on the body out by Roman, although I find it strange that he did not

16 June 2003 Vol 4 No 2

Image of MRAC 76-53-P-1 , Synodontis voltae by Emmanuel Vreven , copyright of MRAC. compare it to two other similar looking species: Synodontis caudovittatus Boulenger, 1901 & • Synodontis filamentosus Boulenger 1901 . S. sorex and S. caudovittatus are both deep bodied species when adult, and neither have the long black dorsal fin extension which is present in S. voltae, and there are differences in the nuchal shield and humeral process. S. filamentosus is present in the Voila system (Poll, 1971 & Gosse 1986) and its colour and pattern appears to match S. vo/tae almost exactly, and also in the shape of the humeral process and the position of the eyes. Roman mentions that smaller specimens may have spots and if one looks at the image of specimen MRAC 76-53-P-1 (which according to Eschmeyer (2002) is additional material of S. vo/tae) one can see the odd faint spot. I have compared the description of the teeth and barbell structure from the description of S. vo/tae, with es of Synodontis gambiensis latifrons, syntypes MNHN that of the figure of the holotype of S. filamentosus that 1959-0495, MNHN 1959-0500, MNHN 1959-0524, by appears in Poll (1971 ). The teeth in the lower jaw of S. Nicolas Bailly & Patrice Pruvost, copyright of MNHN vo/tae appear to be lower in number, but longer than 1801 ), although the oblique yellowish bands disappear those of S. filamentosus. Also, the mandibular barbels earlier and the spots on the body are never as small or in S. voltae are described as having simple dense." ramifications, whereas in S. filamentosus they are more feathered in appearance. The above details for Based on my observations of the images shown here S. voltae do tie in with S. sorex but apart from just the of some of the assumed syntypes, it does appear black extension on the dorsal, there are various slightly different to S. gambiensis gambiensis Gi.inther morphological and morphometric differences between 1864, but whether it is a different species to S. scha/1 the two. An additional obvious visual difference is the remains to be seen. (Although Paugy (in Leveque et shape of the posterior margin of the adipose fin; in S. al. 1992) and Leveque et al. (1989) consider S. sorex it is squared off to and angle, whereas in S. gambiensis gambiensis to be a junior synonym of S. voltae it is rounded. schal~. Svnodontis gambiensis latifrons Blache, 1964 For an image of a juvenile S. scha/1 or what may be a juvenile S. gambiensis latifrons see page 38e of Sands Based on specimens of at least 20cm SL, from the (1985). Lake Tchad Basin. Blache described them as "General Svnodontis leopardus Pfeffer, 1896 (may date to colour yellowish, but varying to orange, exceptionally 1894) olive or brownish. Belly yellowish white or cream. A visible humeral spot. The rays of the fins are yellowish, This species was described on possibly one specimen the membranes blackish. The juveniles are almost from Korogwe, Tanzania. Although not stated, the identical to Synodontis scha/1 (Bioch & Schneider, specimen is likely to have come from the Pangani 17 CAi'CftAf! June 2003 Vo14 No 2 River. Unfortunately the holotype was destroyed during Fish Base) WWII , and the original description did not include a drawing of the specimen. This has led to uncertainty S. ricardoae is probably the closest in terms of colour regarding its validity and identity. and patterning (juveniles and adults). Emmanuel Vreven of the MRAC has examined the holotype of S. Though short, thankfully Pfeffer's description did ricardoae on my behalf and kindly provided the include some details that we can use: following comparative data:

19 teeth in the lower jaw. 8-9 strong serrations on the 25 teeth in the lower jaw, posterior margin of pectoral inner edge of the pectoral fin spine, and about 6 weak fin with about 10 serrations, posterior margin of dorsal serrations on the inner edge of the dorsal fin spine. fin spine without serrations.

Light brownish with many darker brown marks, which Therefore you can see that this does not match that of are larger (with exception of S. /eopardus, although the number of serrations on the fin spines may vary depending age/size of the those of the head) , than the pupil. Also the unpaired specimen. Seegers (personal communication) informs fins show lighter areas with irregularly placed brown me that he has not found S. ricardoae or any fish that marks. The Flecking of the young of the species is tie in with S. /eopardus in the Pangani River. stronger and appears marmorated. Or Peter Bartsch of the ZMB has examined the type There is no size of the holotype listed, but Eccles specimens of S. rukwaensis on my behalf and kindly (1992) lists it as 6cm. provided the following data (due to difficulties in Seegers (1996) and De Vos (2001) propose that this counting the serrations due to their size and species should probably be synonymised with attachment to the fin membrane, a margin of error of Synodontis zanzibaricus Peters, 1868. The pattern of +1- 1 should be accounted for): the lectotype of S. zanzibaricus that appears in Poll ZMB 16311 (lectotype, 'Rukwa'): 12.8cm SL, 24 teeth (1971) does not appear to match that of the in lower jaw, 15 serrations on inner edge of pectoral fin description of S. leopardus, so I am not convinced of spine, 5 serrations on posterior edge of dorsal fin this hypothesis. spine. I have looked at the colour and pattern of other ZMB 32380 (paralectotypes, 'Rukwa') : species that occur in Tanzania, and the closest resemblance that I can come up with are Synodontis i) 12.5cm, 21 , 15, 4 ricardoae Seegers, 1996 and Synodontis rukwaensis Hilgendorf & Pappenheim, 1903, both from the region ii) 11.7cm, 23, 13, 4 of Lake Rukwa, Tanzania, which is some 500 miles ZMB 16310 (paralectotypes, 'Sangwe'): from Korogwe (see colour images of both species on i) 14.4cm, 20, 14, 2 (indistinct)

ii) 14.8cm,21 , 14, 5

iii) 15.1cm, 23, 16,7

iv) 15.3cm, tooth count not possible, 15, 7

v) 15.1cm, 22, 17,4

So the lower jaw tooth count for S. rukwaensis is slightly above that of the holotype of S. /eopardus, the pectoral serration count higher, and the dorsal serration count ties in, although the specimens of S. rukwaensis are larger than the assumed size of the Image of MRAC 94-34-1093 holotype of Synodontis holotype of S. leopardus and any differences may be ricardoae, image by Emmanuel Vreven , copyright of MRAC accounted for by this. I hypothesize that S. leopardus 18 C'AJ? C'ftAV June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 could be a senior synonym of S. rukwaensis although I Gosse, J.-P., 1986. Mochokidae .. p. 105-152. In J. feel this cannot be proved/disproved without further Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den sampling of the Pangani River. I feel that the name S. Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes rukwaensis needs to be used with caution. of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels, MRAC, Tervuren ; &ORSTOM, Paris. Vol2. Acknowledgements Eccles, D. H., 1992. Field Guide to the Freshwater Thank you to Dr. William Eschmeyer of California Fishes of Tanzania. FAO Species Identification sheets Academy of Sciences, USA. Emmanuel Vreven of the for fishery purposes. Musee Royal de I'Afrique Centrale, Belgium, for the information on , and image of S. ricardoae, and the De Vos, L. 2001. Synodontis manni (Teleostei: images of S. voltae. To Nicolas Bailly and Patrice Mochokidae) , a new catfish from the Lower Tana Pruvost of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, River, Kenya. /chthyol. Explor. Freshwaters v. 12 (no. • Paris for the images of S. vaillanti and S. gambiensis 1): 41-50. latifrons. To Dr. Peter Bartsch of lnstitut fuer Roman , B. , 1975. Une nouvelle espece de Synodontis Systematische Zoologi e, Museum fuer Naturkunde der (poissons, Mochocides) dans la Bougouriba, affluent Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin for the information and de la Volta Noire: Synodontis voltae. Notes Docum. image of S. rukwaensis. To Harro Hieronimus for the Volta. v. 8 (no. 2): 45-52. provision of a copy of the original description of S. galinae. Boulenger, G. A. , 1897. Descriptions of new fishes from the upper Congo. --11. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (Ser. References 6) v. 20 (no. 119): 422-427. Poll, M., 1971 . Revision des Synodontis Africains Eschmeyer, W. et al. , 2002. Catalog of Fishes - (Famille Mochocidae). Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Cent. Ser. 8 online version. http://www.calacademy.org/research/ Zoo/. No. 191 : 1-497. ichthyology Burgess, W. E. , 1989. An Atlas of Freshwater and Baensch, H A. & H-G. Evers, 2002. Aquarien Atlas­ Marine CATFISHES - A preliminary survey of the Band 6. Pages 1-1232. Siluriformes. TFH Publications, pages 1-784. Blache, J. , 1964. Les poissons du bassin du Tchad et Vaillant, L. L., 1896. Essai monographique sur les du bassin adjacent du Mayo Kebbi. Etude silures du genre Synodontis, suite et fin . Nouv. Arch. systematique et biologique. Mem. ORSTOM No. 4: 1- Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris (Ser. 3) v. 8: 87-178, Pis. 9-14. 483. Kochetov, A. , 1998. 'A new species of Synodontis'? Leveque, C., D. Paugy and G. G. Teugels (eds.), (In Russian) 'Aquarium ' issue number 2, pages 4-5. 1992. Faune des poissons d'eaux douces et Sands, D. D. , 1985. Catfishes of the World Volume saumatres de I'Afrique de I'Ouest. Collection Fauna Two: Supplements: Second Set. ISBN 0946914 02 8 tropicale no. XXVIII. Faune Poissons d'eaux douces et saumatre Afr. Ouest v. 2: 389-902. Hieronimus, H. & 0 . Grineva , 2000. Synodontis galinae (translation of original description). Cat Chat Leveque, C., D. Paugy G. G. Teugels and R. Volume 1 Issue Number 2, page 3. Romand, 1989. lnventaire taxinomique et distribution des poissons d'eau douce des basins c6tiers de Seegers, L. , 1996. The fishes of the Lake Rukwa Guinee et de Guinee Bissau. Rev. Hydrobio/. Trap. v. drainage. Ann. Soc. Zoo/. Beige v. 278: 1-407. 22 (no. 2): 107-127. Pfeffer, G. J., 1896. [Perhaps appeared first in 1894.] Gunther, A., 1865. A contribution to the ichthyology of Die Thierwelt Ost-Afrikas und der Nachbargebiete. West Africa. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (Ser. 3) v. 15 (no. Lief. v. Die Fische Ost-Afrikas. v. 3: i-xviii + 1-72. 90): 452-453.

19 C'Af C'ftAf June 2003 Vol 4 No 2 CAf',IJSII Sf'f!IOF C80flgJ lffi•J Sunday 23 November 2003 Autumn Auction

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